Lori’s Lollipops – December 2014

Merry Christmas to you all!This holiday season has brought it’s usual hustle and bustle, with so many things vying for attention. As we speed towards Christmas Day, I pray that each one of you will experience God’s presence powerfully and be uniquely drawn towards Jesus.

The last few months found me splitting my time between DTS and debriefing. In October I taught in the DTS during their mini-outreach in Portland, and then spent a week on the Oregon coast receiving further training as a debriefer. As December rolled in, we had to say goodbye to several of our wonderful DTS staff who are moving on. Although there is constant transition in YWAM, and you get used to it to a degree, it remains hard to say goodbye to people who have become close friends and “family”.

Upcoming God Story: Towards the end of March I will be heading to St. Croix to teach in their DTS. I am thrilled! This will be my first time visiting since I left in 2009, and I am excited to see what God has in store, both for the staff/students in the DTS and also for me personally. When I left it was under stressful circumstances, and since God is in the business of restoring and redeeming, I anticipate his greater purpose for this trip! I am looking forward to reconnecting with a few friends, visiting meaningful places on the island, and reflecting on old memories while making new ones. (And on top of that, who’s going to complain about trading a week of Montana winter for the turquoise hues of the Caribbean sea? Not this girl!!)

YWAM Montana—Lakeside : The bigger picture… Through my newsletters you get a glimpse of what I do, but that is a very small part of the bigger picture around here! I’ve listed a few base-wide stats from this last year that I find amazing and fun:
– We ran 30 schools, with 334 students from 34 states and 24 countries.
– 568 people got saved in 27 nations as the Gospel was shared through staff & student outreaches.
– We have 158 full-time volunteer staff — who have consumed 105,968 cups of coffee, and flown on 1,229 flights this year.
To read some great stories and articles written by students and staff, visit our website : www.ywammontana.org. You’ll also see that we are celebrating 30 years of ministry in August 2015, which all of our alumni and supporters are invited to!

May your hearts be filled with the hope of Christ! For His Glory, Lori

For more information on financial donations and partnering with me in ministry, please contact me. Donation checks can be made out to “YWAM”, a note with my name attached, and sent to the address above. Year end gifts dated in 2014 will be process until Jan 9, 2015.